The present invention relates to optical fiber connectors.
Optical fiber connectors are extremely important to make critical mechanical connections between the free ends of optical fibers. It is important that the connectors securely retain the connection between the two pieces of optical fiber. A variety of connectors have been developed to provide such connection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,044 to Egner et al., issued Dec. 17, 1991, assigned to the Assignee of the present invention, shows an optical fiber connector having a right angle strain relief.
The general design of the Egner device is representative of optical fiber connectors. Such a connector includes a tubular body including a ferrule, a coupling nut, biasing means and a retaining ring. The coupling nut and biasing means are axially arranged on the tubular body and retained in position by the retaining ring. The biasing means acts against the coupling nut to provide a secure engagement with the other coupling component with which it is connected.
Typically, the retaining ring used with this type of connector is a C-ring having an open gap along one side for radial attachment to the tubular body. The C-ring is mated with an annular groove formed on an outside surface of the body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,455 to Palecek, issued Jun. 9, 1992, is an example of a C-ring used to retain a coupling nut and spring on the body of an optical fiber connector.
It would be desirable to provide an optical fiber connector which could be assembled using automated procedures. The C-ring retaining ring due to its radial assembly is not conducive to reliable automated assembly. However, the C-ring retaining ring, or other manual attachment procedures may be a necessary fallback assembly technique in the event of downtime of an automated assembly machine. It is important to provide the ability to use both manual and automated assembly techniques in order to maintain the required level of production output for the optical connectors.